Wet Weather Moves Inland

Wet and windy winter weather returned to the San Diego area Monday as another fast-moving Pacific low-pressure system moved inland.

The blustery system will bring strong gusty west winds to the mountains and deserts and light to moderate rain to coastal, valley and mountain areas through tonight, according to the National Weather Service.

By late morning, locations across the county had gotten several hundredths of an inch of moisture, the NWS reported.

Over a six-hour period ending at 10 a.m., the dark clouds had dropped 0.08 of an inch of precipitation at Palomar Observatory; 0.06 in Mission Valley; 0.04 in Carlsbad, Descanso, Fallbrook and Oceanside; 0.03 at Lake Henshaw, Rancho Bernardo and Lindbergh Field; and 0.02 at Montgomery Field in Serra Mesa.

All told, the south-moving storm should bring a little less than a quarter-inch of moisture along the coast and in desert areas, and up to an inch in the East County highlands.

A high wind warning was in effect for mountain locales, which were expected to be buffeted by winds of 25 to 35 mph, with gusts up to 65 mph near ridge tops. Those conditions will make driving of "high profile" vehicles potentially dangerous on such routes as include Interstate 8 between Pine Valley and the Imperial County line, the NWS advised.

-City News Service